Seth Recommends . . . September 2023

Welcome to the second installment in the “Seth Recommends” monthly series here at Seth & the Film Scene, a series dedicated to highlighting some of my favourite films I’ve seen in the last month (or so). Most of the films I cover on my blog are primarily new releases, so I’ve created this as a chance for me to highlight the films that I watched that aren’t part of the 2023 movie release calendar. Some of them are some long-standing favourites that I’m revisiting and others are films that I’ve just seen for the first time. This month, we’re visiting some ‘60s classics, a criminal musical adventure, an existential Palme d’Or winner, and a contemporary comedy.

You can read the August edition here and the October edition here.

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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

“Don’t you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn’t marry a girl just because she’s pretty, but my goodness, doesn’t it help?”

While this film might be best remembered for Marilyn Monroe’s iconic rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and the accompanying pink dress, Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes has a lot more to offer as well. Based on the Broadway musical of the same name (which is in turn based on the 1925 novel of the same name), the film starts Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe as Dorothy and Lorelei, two showgirls and best friends, who end up on an ocean liner set for France. Together, Dorothy and Lorelei find themselves revolving between amorous encounters and attempted scams of the ship’s rich male passengers, while singing and dancing. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is pretty far from a perfect film. While director Howard Hawks has a plethora of great films under his belt — including the screwball comedy His Girl Friday (1940), the noir drama The Big Sleep (1946), and the western Rio Bravo (1959) — he seems out of his depth handling a Broadway musical.  But it’s the killer performances by Russell and Monroe, the gorgeous costume and production design, and the surprisingly subversive narrative that keep this movie alive. It toys with the conventions and rules of the romantic comedy genre in a way that is both clever and yet keeps the Hays Code happy. It’s a really good time at the movies.

While Monroe might be the most famous of the two leads in the film, at the time, she was not nearly as well known as Russell. Russell was paid about $ 200,000 for her work on the film and Monroe was only paid about $ 15,000.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is available to rent.

Directed by Howard Hawks.

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Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)

“Everybody spoils me. Nobody loves me.”

I recently re-watched Agnès Varda’s Cléo from 5 to 7 for an episode of my podcast, my third time watching the film. With each viewing, I am more and more enchanted by the film and appreciate Varda’s mastery of the film form. Cléo from 5 to 7 is a part of the “French New Wave,” a revolutionary filmmaking movement in France between the late 1950s and late 1960s. The film follows Cléo, a French singer living in Paris, as she navigates through an hour-and-a-half of her life while waiting for the results of a medical test. The film is a dissection of Cléo’s celebrity status, the various vapid players in her life, and her existential search for meaning and happiness. It’s a lot crammed in 90 minutes, but it makes for a full and rewarding experience. And still, Varda is able to make Cléo’s journey something delightful, with an assortment of fun characters, some magical flourishes here and there, and two cameos by some of her contemporary filmmakers. Corinne Marchand is delightful as the title character, deftly handling her ditzy popstar persona with a profound sense of unease with her life circumstances. If you like art house cinema or just want to get a taste of one of the most important filmmaking movements in the history of the art form, you don’t want to miss this one.

Cléo from 5 to 7 is available to stream on the Criterion Channel.

Directed by Agnès Varda.

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High and Low (1963)

“I have no time for lies. I want the truth!”

While legendary film director Akira Kurosawa might be best known for his historical epics like Ran (1985), Rashomon (1950), and the deified Seven Samurai (1954), one of his strongest films is one that takes place in the then-present day. After watching it for the first time many years ago in a noisy airport, I revisited Kurosawa’s High and Low and I was just as impressed with it as I was the first time around. The film is about the kidnapping of the son of a chauffeur and the ransom demanded from the chauffeur’s boss, businessman King Gondo (played by Toshiro Mifune). Eventually, the case becomes a sensation in Yokohama’s media circuit as the pressure increases on the police to find the kidnapper. The film evolves into a tense game of cat-and-mouse with one of the best third-acts in the business. Kurosawa’s attention to detail here is impeccable. The action is carefully orchestrated, the cinematography is clever, and the performances from the entire ensemble are stellar. But the highlight of the film’s craft might just be its blocking. This excellent video essay from CineFix carefully breaks down some of Kurosawa’s best moments of blocking in the film. Is High and Low Kurosawa’s best film? It’s hard to say. With a career full of masterpieces, it feels reductive to call one movie his best. But it’s certainly a must-watch for fans of Kurosawa or people just curious to see a master at work.

High and Low is now streaming on the Criterion Channel.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa.

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Taste of Cherry (1997)

“No mother can do as much for her children as God does for His creatures. Do you want to refuse all that? Do you want to give it all up? Do you want to give up the taste of cherries?”

The work of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami haunts me. Every time I see one of his movies, I am utterly compelled by his deliberate pace, evocative images of the Iranian countryside, and his thoughtful commentary on the human existence that is both personal and universal. Taste of Cherry, which won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is one of Kiarostami’s best films. Taste of Cherry is simple in concept. The film is about Mr. Badii (played by Homayoun Ershadi) who drives through the outskirts of Tehran looking to hire someone to complete a job for which he’ll offer a large sum of money. Mr. Badii plans on killing himself and needs someone to bury him after the deed is done. The film is largely comprised of a series of conversations Badii has with the various men he is trying to hire while they travel in the car together. It’s shot in long, leisurely shots which gives the audience time to appreciate the sights and sounds of Kiarostami’s world. The film deals with philosophy, morality, religion, and more, as Mr. Badii and his passengers confront the problems of mortality and the emotional weight of living. It’s a powerful, intimate film that certainly isn’t easy to get through, but it is so rewarding when you’re on the other side.

Taste of Cherry is available to stream on the Criterion Channel.

Directed by Abbas Kiarostami.

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Kajillionaire (2020)

“Life is . . . nothing. Just let it go without really thinking about it. Like you’re letting go of a . . . piece of string. Just let it . . . It’s not that big of a deal.”

Lastly, I want to highlight Miranda July’s recent crime comedy, Kajillionaire. Released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kajillionaire totally flew under my radar when it first appeared on streaming. I am thankful to have caught the film now, however, because of just how much I enjoyed it. Idiosyncratic to a fault, Kajillionaire follows the Dyne family, a family of petty thieves trying to get by in a hostile Los Angeles. Our central character is Old Dolio (played by Evan Rachel Wood) who forms a friendship with Melanie (played by Gina Rodriguez), a young woman the family met by chance on a flight. July’s film is incredibly tenderhearted, with an emphasis on compassion and love. The film’s characters aren’t particularly good people — they’re emotionally stunted criminals who fundamentally do not know how to relate to each other — but July cuts through the dirt and pulls the humanity out from within. And while the film shows that some aren’t able to change, those who can are given a life so much richer than anything they could have imagined. It’s strange, quirky, and very memorable. The performances are absolutely incredible and the film’s ending is particularly excellent.

Kajillionaire is available to stream on Netflix.

Directed by Miranda July.